Tour de Yorkshire Route Announced

The start and finish lines have been announced today for the first ever Tour de Yorkshire.

Selby and York will both host a start or finish of a stage of the race, which is being held on the 1st-3rd May 2015.

following the success of the Yorkshire Grand Depate of the Tour de France.

The race is being organised by Welcome to Yorkshire and the Amaury Sport Organisation and is expected to attract top international riders.

This follows the huge success of the Yorkshire Grand Depart of the Tour de France.

AUDIO NIGEL ADAMS REACTION

Hear Nigel Adams, the MP for Selby, with his reaction to the news.

In July The Tour de France attracted over 3 million visitors and £100 million to the country, and organisers hope the new race can build on that.

Gary Verity from Welcome to Yorkshire said: "This is another huge milestone for Yorkshire as we position the country as the cycling heartland of Europe. This is first every Tour de Yorkshire, I am confident it will become a huge annual event and something that will raise Yorkshire's profile year on year."

Much of the race will travel through parts of Yorkshire that the Tour de France didn't visit.

Leader of Selby District Council, Councillor Mark Crane said he is delighted that Selby will feature in the race. "We expect that being part of this race will bring in many hundreds of visitors and it is a great opportunity for us to showcase this area to the rest of the region, nationally and internationally."

The race will have three stages over the May Bank Holiday weekend, and will be broadcast live on national TV and throughout Europe.

The full route will be announced on 21st of January, 100 days before the start of the race.